Apple deleted discussion

New posting:

Somehow a large discussion on recent iPhone activation issues just disappeared.

I am in Dallas/Fort Worth and am STILL UNABLE to activate my new iPhone via iTunes. I get emails from ATT/Apple saying my number has been ported and the device is active, however when I reconnect the phone to iTunes, I continue to get a store is busy error. In effect, the phone is still physically inactive.

Here's the deleted discussion: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1213623&start=50&tstart=0

I would prefer that Apple address the issue rather than sweep it under the rug. Anyone else still having these problems?

Reply:

Probably due to the thread you referenced not accomplishing much filled with mostly ranting, name calling, threats and the like - the real mature stuff which is against the terms of use for these discussions.

This is a user to user help forum only for technical support issues and questions that is provided and moderated by Apple so no one here can help you with this and Apple does not address such issues here. Which I'm sure you have already done, you need to contact AppleCare for the iPhone in order to have this issue addressed or get an answer since it won't come from here.

I hate to say it, but I agree with the reply. Although it was nice to feel that I was not alone in my trouble, it doesn't help Apple to have alot of negative venting on their website. People should vent on their own sites. :)

Now I have an iPhone

Okay, two days later, it activated. Only took 5 minutes.

Judging from the discussion thread on Apple Support, people were trying all through the night. I think the first person got through around 5am. Lots of angry yet dedicated people. Strange irony.

It also seems that the discussion is no longer accessible. Hmm....

First impressions...

• Nice, slick design.
• Screen looks great. Text is easy to read.
• Browsing web pages is really cool. Zoom in, zoom out.
• The on-screen keyboard works surprisingly well.
  
• Wish I could cut/copy/paste.
• Only sync's contacts and calendar with Outlook??? My Treo was sync'ed with my Yahoo account. I'd at least hope to have support for Thunderbird.
• Only imports bookmarks from IE or Safari? How about FireFox?
• Can't get Gmail to work yet. No support for HotMail.
• All the weather and time settings default to Cupertino, CA. They could have made it change to your location.
• The recently updated My Yahoo page warns that your browser may not be compatible. It seems to work however.
• When you go to Google.com, you get the mobile version but the full version seems to be just fine.

Hopefully I'll find solutions to some of my problems and will be posting them here.

I (almost) have an iPhone

After talking with several friends and coworkers, and reading blogs like this one, I decided to get an iPhone.

I really enjoy using our iPods. We have a 5.5G Classic and a Nano. The interface is easy, sound is great. We listen to our music (after importing most of our CD collection into iTunes, which was soooo easy to do) and podcasts.

I've had a Treo 680 for almost a year now. It's a great device. Phone calls are not overly complex despite being a "smart phone" (I know many Windows Mobile users who have to battle their phones to do basic things). It has decent browsing and email. It can play video and music, but those are not it's strong points.

So with the iPhone, I'm able to get the best of both worlds into one device- playing music & podcasts (iPod) and phone/email/web (Treo).

Plus I'll get to use features from both devices that I hadn't before. Now with the nice screen of the iPhone, I'll put some photos on it. And I'll probably watch more video as well.

By the way, another great product, Beyond TV, was just updated to export recorded TV shows in an iTunes compatible format. Great timing.

The web browser on the Treo is adequate. It did the job, although usually not very aesthetically. Sometimes pages get cut off or squeezed to fit the display. The way the iPhone handles it is just brilliant. Zoom in, Zoom out. But it's always showing you the "real" web page, not a processed version of it.

Well, all of this is just dreaming right now. I've had my iPhone for over a day now, but can't use it because activations aren't working.

Last night when I tried, I got this message:

iPhone activations are unavailable at this time. iPhone activations are temporarily unavailable due to routine AT&T maintenance. Please disconnect your iPhone and reconnect it after 3pm EST to begin again. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Today I get a similar message, but this time without a time or date indicating when it will be working.

This message thread on Apple Support just about sums up what I've been going through. I guess I'll keep trying. What a bummer.

Life with Roomba

So articles are popping up about people's attachments to their Roomba. I can sympathize, when it cheerfully goes about doing such a mundane job, how can you resist wanting to thank it?

It's funny sometimes... when it gets stuck it cries for help with a repeating tune that sounds like a death march.

Last weekend our Roomba got trapped in the bathroom. I think it was going along the wall towards the door and ended up pushing the door closed. We felt so bad... finding the Roomba all tired out, not able to finish its task of cleaning the entire house. The bathroom is clean though.

One thing that is pretty amazing is how it finds its station. It goes all over the house, but it seems to get back to the charger even though it's in a completely different room.